Kerry is commencement speaker at Ohio college Bush tried to disenfranchise

[DeepModem Mom]

This invitation to Kerry comes in the aftermath of one of the saddest and most outrageous incidents of Election Day/Night 2004. The story as told to me: Only two voting machines were allotted to the students, faculty, and college family at Kenyon, a location where Bush would not be expected to garner many votes. The nearby Republican town of Mt. Vernon was allotted more machines than were needed. One machine broke down early on, and as the wait to vote grew longer, the school and its students realized what was going on. Classes were cancelled, food was brought to those in line, even supplies like toilet paper. Students allowed elderly retired faculty, and faculty widows, ahead of them in the line. Democratic lawyers asked Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell for more machines, and were refused. Ballots were finally sent, but the students thought they would be thrown away, and waited for their place at the machines. As the article below reports, students, many of them voting for the first time in what they thought was a democracy, ended up waiting to vote up to eleven hours, until the election had been decided for Bush. They waited, until they ended up on national news reports, in the early hours of the morning.


GAMBIER, Ohio (February 16, 2006)– U.S. Senator John F. Kerry will present the Commencement address at Kenyon's 178th graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 20.

Kerry was the Democratic challenger to President George W. Bush in 2004, in a closely fought election that culminated in Ohio, whose Election Day drama included a noteworthy chapter featuring Kenyon students. Indeed, the senior class invited Kerry to speak in part as a way of recognizing that extraordinary day--a memorable moment in their own college careers that also became, for many around the nation, an inspiring lesson in civic involvement.

Kenyon students, most of them voting in their first presidential election, found themselves waiting up to eleven hours to cast their ballots, as the village's two voting machines were overwhelmed by the heavy turnout. The polls in Gambier couldn't close until nearly 4:00 a.m., making the village community center the last voting precinct in the Eastern time zone to shut its doors. The students' determination to vote caught the attention of the national news media, and a number were interviewed on radio and television, earning praise from commentators as well as Kenyon alumni and parents.

"It's an honor for me to speak at Kenyon College. These are some of the most passionate, dedicated, involved young Americans out there, and as graduates they will go from being student activists to citizen activists," says Kerry. "Their generation will help shape and even decide many of the most important issues and biggest debates America will face in the twenty-first century."...

http://www.kenyon.edu/x30859.xml

[EFerrari]

1. Bravo, John Kerry. And congratulations to the election activists

at Kenyon College.

We are all in your debt.

:toast:

[stevedeshazer]

2. Excellent. I hope the press covers this speech.

Not that I'm holding my breath.

On the other hand, every word and phrase repeated by the Bush administration in front of a hand-picked audience of carefully screened sycophants will be lovingly echoed, spun and admired by the paid-for media.

Kudos to Kerry for doing this; young educated people are our future. Kenyon students should remember their treatment by the establishment and work to change it.

[madame defarge]

3. Great school!

One of my very favorite people in the world went there...my father (1930's). (And so did Paul Newman, another great American and favorite of mine.)

[castiron]

5. My grandfather went there in the 30s!

And he's rolling in his conservative, racist grave right now!!! (god love him and may he rest in peace).

[JanusAscending]

4. I would not have expected any less from MY PRESIDENT!!!

This is the essence of the MAN!! Kids and animals love him, and are more excellent judges of CHARACTER than some Dems I know!! You go JK!, and I too, hope that the "liberal" media will cover this.:yourock: :kick: :applause:

[yurbud]

6. if I went to school there, I'd have mixed feelings about Kerry speaking

On the day when it mattered most, he retreated in the face of enemy fire.

[Kerry fan]

7. yurbud, what would you have had Kerry do?

Since he could not prove anything, would you have preferred his being called a "sore Loser", as some still call Al Gore today? Did Al a lot of good, didn't it?

Kerry did the right thing. He conceded with grace and worked to get to the truth, as have many others. To this day, there is no conclusive PROOF that Kerry won. Nothing that would stand up in court.

The burden is on the electorate and the election officials, to ensure that voting machines are not hackable. Kerry can't do that alone. We were snookered by Diebold and ES&S.

The GAO report proved there could have been fraud. It's now up to the states to get it fixed.

[EFerrari]

9. yurbud is right. Kerry misstepped. He promised to get all votes

counted and he didn't.

He overpromised: promised something he couldn't deliver.

He left his supporters high and dry.

No matter how you cut it, that happened.

Did he have great choices? No.

We all of us, John inclusive, are dealing with our corrupted elections.

Let's see how we do.

[yurbud]

13. MIXED feelings

Since the same thing happened in 2000, that should have been taken into account.

What if they Democrats had pursued election integrity with the same zeal they tried to keep Raplph Nader off the ballot?

I think Kerry is a good guy, but I give him a C for the campaign, and C- for handling election fraud.

If the Democrats roll over for one or two more elections, people will be forced to form a new party, and while they are trying to do that, the GOP will tighten their stranglehold on power, making it that much harder to remove them through a political process, and exponentially increasing the damage they are doing to our country.

The GOP is cutting down people with chainsaws while the Democrats are acting like it's a challenging game of croquet.

No amount of spinning can undo the fact that enough democrats have chosen not to represent the people who voted for them and helped neuter our democracy.

The DLC is following a corporate agenda to hollow out the Democrats with a pattern used on Labor in New Zealand and Great Britain--appear just progressive enough to get elected, then ignore people and go back to taking care of business (literally).

[IndyOp]

17. Would I have preferred his being called a "sore Loser"? YES, YES, YES

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES,

O My Fucking God: Should they all be cowards about being called A NAME instead of fighting for what is true and right and fair?!?!? John F'ing Kerry is responsible for DEATHS because he did not fight the sons of bitches who stole the election.

Generally, I try to remain calm about this issue as I don't think he had much of a chance to win, but GODDAMN IT - the candidates better get the FUCK OVER the fear of being CALLED A NAME!!! The next Dem who runs for ANY office better be willing to put their GOOD NAME on the line - AT THE VERY LEAST.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

Thousands and thousands and thousands of people have died over the past year because Bush stole the Presidency again, instead of Kerry being in office -- US soldiers, Gulf Coast hurricane victims, Iraqi's civilians. Torture. No meds, less food for the elderly and the young. -- THE CONSEQUENCES ARE HUGE!!

...and Kerry folded without a fight. That is betrayal.

I appreciate what he did before, I appreciate what he has done after.

His unwillingness to put his GOOD NAME on the line and be called sore loser and far, far, far worse is betrayal.

[yurbud]

27. I don't even buy that they are afraid of being called names like

"sore loser," "obstructionist," or even "liberal." They are simply looking for approval from people with money, not us.

[blm]

8. There was NOTHING to be had - and no way to prove it AFTER the fact. If

there is anyone to be blamed, its' the DNC and the Ohio Dem Party who did NOT secure the voting machines BEFORE the election. AFTER is TOO late.

The DNC did not believe in the voting fraud issue, and they are STILL not making it a priority even though Dean is suspicious of it and is still looking into it.

[EFerrari]

10. We really have to dig out Ohio. Here in CA, there is a crisis

and hopefully, we will prevail.

OH is in Intensive Care. They really need our care and support.

[IndyOp]

18. After is not too late - we can't predict exactly how they will

try to steal the next one. Of course we have to try to secure the machines, and make certain that all voters get to vote in advance -- but we no longer have the leisure to say that we will only fight this or that, we will only fight before but not after.

The Haitians got the right man in office because they refused to accept bogus results. Don't we have that much courage?

WE FIGHT - before, during after. FIGHT for truth and fairness. Fight to prevent the nightmare consequences that follow the GOP theft of elections. People have died and more die everyday because of the GOP control of government.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[blm]

25. I meant it's too late because the rigged machines automatically erase

evidence as they are set up for onetime use. That's why there is no hard evidence to be had.

[IndyOp]

28. I did not think the erasure was automatic -

At the very least the machines & software can be seized and tested. Also punchcards, scantron ballots, and receipt tapes can be seized and recounted/checked.

[demdiva]

21. I don't think it's about being a sore loser

It doesn't make sense for Kerry to focus all of his energy on this subject when it wouldn't change who's in the White House anyway. And, the law suits are still on going . . . dwindling, but still ongoing. That's not exactly giving up the fight.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=72131&mesg_id=72131

[Peggy Day]

23. One lawsuit was just thrown out-just one left?

Does anyone know if it will hold? I sure hope so.

[mod mom]

11. We used to have a home in Gambier. It is a beautiful pictureque

campus. I would love to hear this commencement address.

It would ALSO be nice for him to also speak at an inner city community hall in Columbus (where people also waited a long time.) He needs to let these voters also know how thankful he was for their perserverance and let them know how much the democratic party needs them.

Hey, maybe he could even kickoff a voter registration check for low income voters who are more likely to be victims of purges! Sure would be nice if the Dem party would look out for their base voters-like the inner city precincts that went over 90% Kerry.

A girl can dream.....

[knitter4democracy]

12. Nice place.

I went to the Naz south of Mt. Vernon. I often headed to Gambier, though, for the bookstore and the deli, and I had a class at Kenyon back when I was a Spanish major.

Mt. Vernon Nazarene is a scary place to go to college if you like to think critically at all, but Kenyon sure seemed nice.

[mod mom]

20. Thats what sold us on Gambier-a great bookstore open 365 days a year.

That, and a blue heron perched in the pond the day we looked at the property.

I will contact Kerry's office . I have emails for 2 of his aides.

[knitter4democracy]

26. Good idea.

I miss that bookstore. It helped me get through some pretty dark times . . .

[blm]

16. Why don't you call Kerry's office and make this suggestion.

We can do more than dream it - if it's the right thing to do we should do it.

[MH1]

19. That's a wonderful suggestion. n/t

[DeepModem Mom]

24. You make a really important point, mod mom -- low-income voters...

in urban precincts, I think, were much less able to perservere and vote. Many did, as you note, but how many votes were lost because people had jobs they would lose if they didn't show up, because children had to be taken care of, or picked up at school, etc.? Even the kids at Kenyon needed the support of their school and their classmates. This deliberate minimizing of the Democratic vote, by people who have the power to do it, is a truly serious affront to democracy.

Your idea for Kerry to stop by Columbus in order to recognize these voters is a really good one.

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Hmmm...that might not be too far to drive. I'd like to hear Kerry.

Thanks for posting the link.

[freeplessinseattle]

15. Bless these students. They tried, did all they could

and get shit on by a democracy sham.

I want to cry all over again.

[TheModernTerrorist]

22. I'm jealous

we got stuck with Condoleezza "Condolence" Rice for my commencement...



My mom threatened me to not make an ass of myself... so I decided to not go.


It was at 8AM.... I'm not getting up that early...not for her